Improvement in skates



- J. P. BECKER, Jr.

Skate.

No. 197,007. Patented Nov. 13, 1877.

F K ifi I .a. Q T I il Lula-" g p33- d bvw a.

NITED ST PATENT OFFICE,

JOHATIN PETER'BEGKER, JR., OF BEMSGHEID, GERMANY.

IMPROVEMENT IN SKATES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 197,007, dated November13, 1877 application filed October 3, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, J OHANN PETER BECKER, J r., of Bemscheid, Germany,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Skates, to becalled Automatic Fasteners, and I do hereby declare the following to beafull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawing, forming a part of this'specification, inwhich- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a skate containing my invention.Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, and Figs.'3 and 4 are detail views ofparts of the same. Fig. 5 is a view of a key it]? be used with a skatecontaining my inven- The object of my invention is to so construct askate that it may be readily and effectively secured to the boot or shoeof the user without the employment of the hands; and it consists inlthedevices and their combinations, as will be hereinafter fully pointed outand clearly claimed.

In the drawing, B is a resilient foot-plate, made of steel or othersuitable material, which is secured at or near its front, by a standard,h, or in any other convenient manner, to the rail A, itsrear portionbeing free to move, fora purpose hereinafter described, and providedwith a heel-clamp, t.

O is a piece of metal which is recessed to fit and work over the rail A,and is secured to the rear portion of the foot-plate B, serving toenable the latter to move vertically without any sensible lateralmotion.

A rivet, 0, secured to the piece of metal 0 works in a slot, d, cut inthe rail A, at an angle to its base, and prolonged from a point, 0, onlines parallel, or nearly parallel, to said base, this constructioncausing the rivet c to be forced forward as the foot-plate is depressed,and to be sprung backward after passing the point 0, and thus to be heldsecurely in place.

In the forward end of the foot-plate are depressions or grooves in whichplates n slide, having clamps n at their outer edges, of any convenientshape. Over these plates, and extending beyond them, is a plate, E, heldin contact with the foot-plate B, at or near its forward end, by a stud,11, forming a part of, or connected to, the standard h. The head of thisstud is elliptical in form, and projects over the plate E, its bodypassing through a slot in said plate. To get said plate into theposition shown in the drawing, it is first placed at right angles to therail A, and then over the stud i, the lat? ter passing through the saidslot. The plate is then turned, and the head of the stud is thus causedto project over the same, as above referred to, and thus retain it inposition vertically and laterally, and yet permit it to slidelongitudinally.

The plate E is provided with oblique slots, into which the heads ofbolts 1 project, which are secured by nuts k to the plates n. Theseplates at are slotted, to permit of adjustment in the ordinary manner.

is a slide which is bifurcated beneaththe foot-plate B, and passesthrough, and is capable of sliding in, a slot in the foot-plate, andthen through a slot, or, in a plate, m, a nut clamping the plates E andare together being prevented from forcing the plate m so as to bindagainst the foot-plate by a shoulder on said slide f. The slot ac in theplate m allows a clamp, m, with which it is provided, to be adjusted tosuit the heel of the boot or shoe.

9 is a pusher, bifurcated at its lower part to embrace the rail A, towhich it is pivoted, its upper part entering the bifurcations of theslide f, and being pivoted thereto, the points of pivoting to the railand slide being out of a vertical line, for a purpose to be explained.

To use the skate, the clamps m u must first be adjusted to fit the heeland sole of the boot or shoe, in a manner similar to that employed inusing the Halifax skate. The boot or shoe is then placed in position,and, pressure being applied to the heel, the foot-plate is depresseduntil the rivet 0, moving down the slot d, has passed the point 0, whenit is sprung into the prolongation of said slot (1, and is there firmlyheld. As the foot-plate is thus depressed, the pusher g forces theplates m and E backward, the former plate causing the clamp m to holdthe heel of the boot or shoe between it and the clamp t, while thelatter plate, by means of its oblique slots, causes the plates n andtheir clamps n to approach each other and grasp the sole of the boot orshoe, thus firmly securing the skate to the boot or shoe.

To remove the skate, the end of the key (shown in Fig. 5) is placedbetween the end of the slot d and the metal piece 0, and by turning saidkey a projection on it forces the rivet 0 out of the prolongation of theslot (1, past the point 0, when the resiliency of the foot-plate causesit to rise in the slot d. As the footplate rises, the pusher 9 causesthe plates m and E to move forward, and thus release the clamps m n frompressure upon the heel and sole of the boot or shoe.

My invention may be used in any kind of skates. When used in rollerskates, those parts only of the rail are used that are necessary for thepivoting of the pushing-piece, and for the fastening mechanism to slideand catch in.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

